Today I took the time to re-work the stump of my large larch bonsai. Regular readers will be aware that this tree was chopped back from a much larger one in March 2015. At that time I did some basic carving on the large cut with a view to returning to it at a later date.

The original chop was at the back of the tree and not visible from the front. For that reason it can not be considered as an important element in the new look of the tree but it is important that it should look as natural as possible. This is how it looked after the initial work in 2015

This is how it looked prior to todays’ work and after 2 seasons of weathering.

This is how it looks at the moment after a little more refinement today.

This picture shows that the chop is virtually invisible from the front

A reminder of how it looked before the big chop of 2015

The reasons why this tree was chopped back and started again can be found by clicking the link to this earlier post

During Gerry’s visit last week, we potted some of our raw material into wooden boxes to help with their development. I worked on trident maples that I acquired as a mini forest planting a few years ago. I am growing them in large shallow boxes to develop the nebari and it seems to be working well.

I plan to make a shohin tree from this one, so I may begin chopping it back this week

The nebari on this one is beginning to look nice but I would like to see it grow much bigger. This one was potted up into a wider box.

Gerry wanted to pot a nice juniper prostrate that he brought back from Noelander’s.

It was in a peaty soil, which had to be removed.

This how it looks at the moment in its new box with a slight change in the planting angle.

Its an interesting tree with future possibilities from several angles of view.

This Larch, collected in 2012, was styled and put into its current pot in March 2014. Unfortunately I never took a before picture of this one when I acquired it but the collected material needed very little effort to get it to look like it does now. It will be re-potted this year as soon as the weather will allow.

This is how it looked without wire at the start of the day

And this is how it looks at the moment

It has quite a nice nebari that is hidden by the soil at the moment. That will be sorted when it is re-potted into this Walsall Ceramics oval, in the next few weeks

This next one, a potentilla fruticosa, was dug from a friends garden about 2-3 years ago

I have been a little slow in starting the midwinter maintenance of my trees due to a cold and wet December. This is a view of my garden on Friday after a day of snow on Thursday.

Snow isn’t that common in the lowlands of Scotland, so when it comes you have to make the most of it. I took all of my shohin hawthorns out of the cold greenhouse and placed them outside on the bench to fully expose them to the freezing conditions. Why did I do this you might ask ? I normally overwinter them inside so that I can control the moisture levels in the pots but so far they have never flowered and the trees are at least 20 years old. I have read and observed on the hillsides near my home that hawthorns flower better following a harsh winter, so this year I am trying to expose them to as much cold as possible without freezing them to death. It will be interesting to see if this makes a difference in the flowering period this year.

Anyway, the snow has gone now and the temperatures have risen to a degree where I can begin the winter work on my larch trees in development, in some degree of comfort.

The first job is to remove the moss from the soil and clean the algae from the trunks and branches using warm water and a toothbrush. Then last years growth can be pruned back and the trees will be rewired later in the week. Here are some of the trees I am working on at the moment.

I will post more pictures, in a few days, when the wiring has been completed. All of these trees will have to be re-potted this year but it will be another month before its warm enough to do this.

I will be taking this Larch along to the 4th Ayr Winter Image Show tomorrow. This is the first event of the year in the Scottish Bonsai calendar. It’s in a new venue this year, the Savoy Park Hotel, Racecourse Road, Ayr and the doors open at 11.00 am. If you like bonsai and live nearby this is one not to be missed.

I will be taking lots of pictures and they will appear on the blog sometime on Monday.